


everything's better with a kitten

by jennycaakes



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2019-03-12 05:24:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13540629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jennycaakes/pseuds/jennycaakes
Summary: Posy is finally allowed to adopt a pet, so they head to the Humane Society to find the perfect one. Madge just so happens to work there, and Gale is definitely not harboring feelings for her.





	everything's better with a kitten

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HawthorneWhisperer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HawthorneWhisperer/gifts).



> idk man i wanted to write some gadge. sorry if i'm a little rusty - hope you like it!

“...but then I took this quiz online, and--don’t roll your eyes Gale! It wasn’t a Buzzfeed quiz, it was a real one, and I fill out all of the standards that we have in our house to find my perfect type of pet, and I _swear_ that no matter what it said, I’m just going to--oh my God! You’re exasperated with me! Completely over it! I can’t believe you absolutely hate me.”

“Pose,” Gale exhales.

He loves his sister. So much. But she’s been on this pet-kick for way too long. So long, in fact, that Hazelle actually caved and told Posy she could get a pet.

At fourteen years old, Posy’s a bit of a monster, but she loves fiercely and is more responsible than Gale ever was as a teenager, so he thinks she probably deserves it. The problem is even Posy doesn’t know what she wants. It could be a cat, or a dog, or a bird, or a lizard, or just--something. She just wants something. Something that will love her back.

Gale tries not to think about how much he relates.

“You have to be supportive!” Posy says as they stop outside the humane society. Gale kills the engine and lets out a long breath. “Mom said you have to be supportive!”

He reaches over and ruffles her hair. “When am I not supportive of you?” he asks. Posy grins and Gale returns her smile. “C’mon, Pose, let’s go get ourselves a snake.”

Posy scoffs, but there’s a laugh in there too, and she sprints out of the car toward the building without waiting for him to catch up.

Gale’s half-convinced that Hazelle tasked him with the _Get-Posy-an-Animal_ Mission because Hazelle is worried about him living alone. Ever since Thom and Delly got engaged and Thom moved out, Gale’s been in their big apartment all by himself. No dog, no cat, no one to judge the amount of coffee mugs that are piling up on the kitchen table. He likes it that way.

“But you need _comfort_ ,” Hazelle had argued when Gale told her he wasn’t going to get a dog _just because_. They’d been sitting in the kitchen at their family home, eating breakfast, waiting for the kids to wake up. “You haven’t even dated anyone in almost a year.”

“Didn’t realize you were paying attention.”

She whacked him with the newspaper she’d been reading. “If you’re not going to give me a grandchild,” Hazelle said pointedly, “you can at least get me a grand-dog.”

“Wow, Ma. Seriously?”

It’s only been a week, and he’s already at the Humane Society. She wins this round.

Posy is practically humming with excitement as they enter the building. There’s a man at the front desk with a smile that looks a little too forced. “Good morning!” he greets them. “What brings you two in here today?”

“An animal!” Posy bursts. Gale gives her a look and she collects herself. “Sorry. We would like to look at the animals that are up for adoption.”

“Sounds excellent,” he says. “What is it you’re looking for?”

“I’ll know it when I see it,” Posy says.

“So you’re unsure,” he notices. “Okay. No problem here. All of our animals would be great to take home, but I understand. Let me just call someone who can come and walk you through our exhibits, okay?”

Posy looks to Gale expectantly and Gale manages a nod. “That’d be great,” Gale tells him. “Thank you.”

The man makes a quick phone call before telling them someone’s on their way to be their guide. Gale drums his fingers on the counter while Posy looks all around. She’s absolutely glowing. Gale hopes, more than anything, that they find the pet she’s looking for. It doesn’t matter if it’s a blind puppy or a three legged cat -- Posy’s going to love the hell out of it.

“Sorry about the wait!” Gale looks over toward the side room and, of all people, Madge Undersee in a Humane Society polo emerges from behind a door. “I was attacked by some kittens and nearly tripped over a--oh,” her speech peters off as she spots them. “Hi Gale.”

“Undersee,” he greets.

It’s been a long time since they’ve seen one another. Making out after their five year high school reunion two years ago hardly counts as _keeping in touch_. She’s as beautiful as he remembers, but her beauty’s never been a surprise. The surprise is how it catches him off guard each time. Now, she turns a pretty shade of pink and ducks her head to fight her smile, and Gale struggles to keep his own off of his face.

“I didn’t take you as the pet owning type,” Madge says.

“He’s not,” Posy bursts. “It’s me. I want a pet. Can you help us or not?”

Madge manages a laugh, always full of grace, and she nods. “I sure can,” she says. “You must be the famous Posy?”

Posy looks toward Gale, wrinkling her nose. “Stop talking about me to your friends,” she says.

“Stop being so fun to talk about,” Gale tosses back, reaching over to mess up her hair. “Madge and Katniss were good friends,” Gale tells his sister, and Posy seems to ease a little bit. “How’ve you been?” he asks.

“Before you answer,” Posy stops her, Madge already opening her mouth to answer, “can you catch up while we look at the animals? Dogs first, if possible.”

Madge laughs. It’s quite the sound.

* * *

Madge leads them through the back room where all of the dogs are sectioned away. They look gloomy in their cages, but they brighten up as soon as they see people. There are older dogs and younger dogs and puppies. There are sick dogs and healthy dogs. There are so many dogs and Posy wants to pet absolutely all of them.

“When thinking about dogs,” Madge says, letting Posy in to another area so she can actually pet them, “there are some key things to keep in mind.”

Madge tells Posy about fitness level and about grooming regime and about sociability, and Posy listens better than Gale bets she’s ever listened in school. He can tell that his sister is really taking in everything she’s saying, and that’s good, and then she pets the dogs.

“You could get one too,” Madge says as Posy lays on the floor with a grey pit bull terrier that is absolutely so sweet. “A dog,” Madge elaborates.

“You already said I’m not the pet owning type,” Gale returns. Madge nudges him with her elbow, and again he finds himself trying to fight off a smile. “I don’t have a lot of time,” he says. “Work keeps me busy.”

“We’ve got lots of dogs here that had homes where people worked 20 to 40 hours a week anyway,” Madge says. “Most that are already house trained. Maybe need a little bit of command training, but…”

Gale looks over at her as she trails off, and he’s pretty sure her wide blue eyes are how she gets most of these animals adopted.

“So you work here?” Gale asks.

Madge nods, watching as Posy squeals in joy as the pup licks her cheek. “I do indeed,” she says. “Got halfway through dentistry school to realize that teeth are weird and I don’t want to spend the rest of my life looking at inflamed gums.” Gale laughs, shaking his head at her. “I’m taking night classes. Hopefully I’ll be a vet one day, but for now I get to spend my time hanging out with all these great animals.”

“Do you have any?” he asks.

“Two cats and a dog,” she answers, looking sheepish. “I’ve got a lot of love in my heart.”

Gale snorts and Madge doesn’t add anything else. They make their way through a couple of different dogs, Posy giving her undivided attention to each and every one of them. Madge tells her it’s important to not just feel _bad_ for an animal, seeing as they’re all here so they all deserve love, but to really think about what’s best for her.

After checking out six different dogs of all shapes and sizes, they move to the cats.

Upon entering the cat room, Madge is swarmed. It’s clear that she is absolutely adored by the cats. Unlike with the dogs, all of the cats are in free roam in this room. There are a couple of other people looking for a cat too, and Posy goes right into the middle of the room and sits down. She, too, is swarmed in seconds.

Madge bends down, scooping a giant fluffy cat into her arms. “Here,” Madge says, passing the cat to Gale, who is so shocked that he’s being handed a cat he just accepts it. “Her name’s Princess.”

“Sounds familiar,” Gale murmurs, and the two of them meet one another’s gaze again. Princess nuzzles Gale’s neck like they’re old friends and Madge looks innocent all over again. “I’m not adopting an animal here, Undersee,” he says.

“But she already loves you,” Madge says, reaching over to scratch Princess behind her ears. “And why _not_ adopt from the Humane Society?”

“No,” he says again.

“I found her!” Posy shouts. Gale turns looking over to find his sister with a small tabby cat in her lap. “This one! I know it!”

Madge beams, leaving Gale with Princess to go over to Posy. “Are you sure?” Madge asks. “You should be sure, Posy.”

The kitten in Posy’s lap mews.

“I’m sure,” Posy says.

* * *

It doesn’t take all that long for the actual adoption process to occur. Posy names her new kitten Frida and in no time, they’re ready all set to go. Madge takes the place of the forced-smiling man at the desk to complete the transaction.

“Alright,” she says after a few papers are signed. “That’s it.”

“That’s it?” Posy asks. “Really?”

“Mm-hm.”

Frida mews. “That’s it!” Posy cheers. “Oh, Gale, thank you!” Gale doesn’t need to remind his sister that it wasn’t _his_ idea to get the cat, but he accepts her hug anyway. “This is the best day literally of my entire life, you have absolutely no idea!”

Posy takes Frida in her new crate out toward the car, and Madge finishes typing in a few things to the computer. Gale hesitates. It always feels like this. Every interaction they have is short, sweet, and then over. He drums his fingers on the counter again.

“You never called,” he finally says.

Madge’s smile slips and she looks up at him. “What?”

“After the reunion,” he manages. He feels stupid even bringing it up. But after all of those years of grumbling and grunting at one another, leading to actual fights and debates, which moved to conversations that _meant_ something--part of him thought that they’d made it. “Never mind.”

“Gale,” she calls after him. “You could’ve called me too,” she says back. “I didn’t know you wanted me to.”

It feels like he’s been slapped. He’s sure she didn’t mean it that way, but his mind is already turning. “Because I’m still that guy from high school,” he says sharply. “Is that it?”

“What? No, I didn’t--”

“Just hook up with anyone and then forget about it?” he carries on.

“ _Gale_ ,” Madge says, eyebrows furrowed. “Of course I--”

“Forget it,” he says. His voice is empty when he says, “Thanks for your help today.”

The bell rings over the door as he pushes his way outside. Posy’s already sitting shotgun, Frida’s crate on her lap as they prepare for the trek home.

“I like that Madge,” Posy says as he starts the car. “She’s nice.”

“Sure is,” Gale mutters.

* * *

Hazelle absolutely loves Frida, and of course it’s revealed that Madge was there, which thrills her even more. “Madge was such a sweetheart!” Hazelle gushes afterwards. “Why didn’t you ever date her, Gale?”

“Really, Ma?”

“You should thank her,” Hazelle carries on. Frida takes to her at once, and they’re all in the living room of the Hawthorne’s home now while Frida bats around a toy mouse. “For your help.”

“Because you raised me to be a decent person,” Gale mutters, “I already did that.”

Hazelle rolls her eyes, but she doesn’t push.

Somehow, Gale ends up at the Humane Society a couple of weeks later anyway.

“I don’t _know_ why he wants a puppy,” Katniss mutters as they climb out of the car. “All I know is that I know _shit_ about dogs and if Peeta wants a goddamn puppy for his birthday, I guess I’m getting him a goddamn puppy.”

Gale could’ve easily told her that Madge works at the Humane Society. That his presence is not needed for this excursion. But he held onto that information like the secret he wanted it to be, and Madge’s face upon seeing Gale again is full of the perfect amount of surprise.

She leads Katniss and Gale back toward the dogs, which are all running around today as opposed to the last time they were there, and Katniss takes off without asking any questions. Gale lingers back by Madge’s side, the two of them quiet as they watch Katniss patting different pups on the head.

Madge finally clears her throat. “If I’d known you had wanted me to reach out to you,” she starts slowly, “you would’ve heard from me that night after we all went home.”

Gale lets out a dry laugh. “Sure.”

“Gale,” Madge says tersely. “I…” she trails off, shaking her head. “Are you blind?” Madge turns to look at him, and any pretense of a smile on either of their faces is gone. “I _liked_ you. In high school. So much.”

“I was shit to you in high school,” Gale says, surprised.

“Yeah. I know. So if you were shit to me and I still liked you, imagine how much more I liked you when you ended up not actually being shit.” Gale knows his mouth is hanging open but he can’t stop himself from gaping at her. “I never thought you were that--that _guy_ that everyone said you were. Taking people behind the bleachers, or whatever. So I wouldn’t have--just. Jesus.”

Madge takes a deep breath before marching away from him, shaking her head again.

Gale lingers back, not knowing what to say, and watches Madge help Katniss pick out a puppy to take him.

Today, when Katniss decides on her animal and they take that sweet little corgi to the front, Gale doesn’t linger when the signatures are done.

* * *

The problem with Katniss getting a dog for Peeta for him for his birthday, is that his birthday isn’t for another couple of weeks. So, Gale ends up tasked with babysitting the dog until the actual day of.

He… grows fond of it.

It’s nice to have another warm body in the house. It’s comforting for that little ball of energy to curl up at his feet at the end of a long day. It takes him three days of Katniss having taken back the dog for Gale to realize--fuck it, he wants an animal after all.

He grabs Posy, who definitely does _not_ want to leave Frida that’s growing into a sleek, mischievous kitten, and they head back to the Humane Society. Madge isn’t at the front desk, instead it’s that fake-smiling man again, but she comes out soon enough.

The pink on her cheeks from the first time she saw him is back, but she doesn’t look as happy about it. “What’re you doing here?” she asks.

Despite the voice in his head that shouts _don’t be stupid_ , he says, “I’m here to adopt an animal.”

Her eyes brighten after that, and Posy leads the way to the cats.

* * *

A week later, after Princess has started accommodating herself to her new home, there’s a soft knock on his front door. Princess meows loudly at the sound of it, and Gale hurries to scoop her off his lap to answer it.

When he opens the door to find Madge on the other side, he’s not as surprised as he thinks he should be. Princess sprints across the room to her, winding her way around Madge’s ankles before any of them can even get in a greeting, and Madge laughs brightly in response.

Gale tugs her inside and shuts the door behind her.

“I didn’t think you’d come,” he says.

“You invited me,” Madge reminds him.

“Yeah,” Gale agrees lowly, leaning toward her. “But that doesn’t mean I thought you’d come.”

Her tongue darts out to wet her lips and Gale’s eyes track the motion. “You better not have just adopted a cat to get me to see you again,” Madge manages as Gale moves closer. “Because animals are real responsibilities and they need real love and real homes and--”

Gale lightly presses his lips to hers, stopping her speech, and she tugs him the rest of the way closer by his shirt. “I happen to quite like Princess,” Gale murmurs against her mouth.

Madge laughs before kissing him again. “Good.”

They end up on his couch, his arm draped over her shoulder, Princess on her lap, as the three of them watch Brooklyn-99 on Hulu. Princess is purring loudly and Madge is leaning against Gale’s side and the entire situation has him feeling warm in ways he’d never expected.

“Sorry I can be a bit of a dick,” Gale says after a bit. Madge looks up at him, squinting a bit. “You just--you’ve always been a lot. It throws me off every time.”

“What does that even mean?” she asks, but there’s laughter in her voice.

“I don’t know,” Gale murmurs, teasing the ends of her hair. “You’re brilliant. And beautiful. And say what’s on your mind. And recognize when you want something and go after it. And I really admire that.”

“Mmm.” She nuzzles a little closer. “Keep going.”

“Mostly I’m just trying to figure out how to keep you around this time,” Gale admits, and again she laughs. Part of him knows he’s going to do whatever he can to hear her laugh again and again and again. “I mean, my cat already likes you, so that’s a plus.”

She looks up at him, lips pursed, and Gale leans in to snatch a quick kiss. “Your family, too,” she adds as he pulls away.

“Ah, shit, you’re right.” He kisses her another time. Hazelle’s going to lose her mind. “Dammit, Undersee,” he says as she smiles, “are you going to let me be your boyfriend or what?”

She reaches up to cup his cheek so she can pull him in for another kiss. Princess meows in complaint because Madge has stopped petting her in this small stretch of time, and Gale can feel her grinning against his mouth.

“We have to see if my pets like you first,” she says, “but then you’re good as gold.”

Gale grins back. “Can’t wait,” he tells her, and he means it.


End file.
